


To Love The Sun

by fantasyseal



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Hugs, Light Angst, M/M, post-Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-17 04:24:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8130298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantasyseal/pseuds/fantasyseal
Summary: Hinata can't seem to shake off the Seijoh deuce and go back to practice the way everyone else can.There is some sad. Mostly there are hugs. I couldn't shake the image of Hinata napping in the sunlight and then this just...kind of...happened?[Rated T for some language.]





	1. Not Wanted

Hinata found a spot where no one could find him.

Karasuno High wanted a little enclosed park, so when they’d built the extension in, they’d made it in the shape of a rectangle and left a space in the middle. It’s really just a droopy, slightly sad, underwatered pile of half-dead grass and a few scraggly bushes, but it’s the only green space Karasuno has, and Hinata _needs_ the sun after that last disastrous deuce.

The team was doing better, back on their feet and working toward the promise of the spring tournament, but Hinata couldn’t let it go that easily. He keeps rerunning his missed serves, his blocked spikes, his awful receives in his head, and he _knows_ he should be in the gym practicing, spiking past Tsukishima and getting the senpais to show him how to serve properly and letting Coach Ukai throw volleyballs at him to receive, but…well, he just _can’t._

He can’t bear to face the team knowing that if they’d had a better spiker, they would’ve won. If Kageyama hadn’t trusted him with his tosses, they could have won. If he could just work out how to serve _over_ the net, they could have won. So instead of going to practice, he’s been hiding out in the green space waiting for practice to be over, waiting for everyone to leave (Kageyama’s taken to meeting him on the other side of the mountain and having him enter through the gym so he can’t put his bike anywhere else), before slinking home and answering his mother’s concern with a cheerful lie about practice running late. This space is easy to be in, for Hinata—it’s warm and green and he drinks in the sunlight and worries about picking the assorted detritus that inevitably gets caught in his fluffy hair out later.

And it’s _definitely_ easier than having to deal with his teammates, because even if by some miracle they _want_ Hinata back (and really, who would after his performance in that game), now he’s missed a week of practice, and Daichi would go straight into his Scary Captain Mode, and Kageyama’d glare at him for the next _year,_ probably, and it’s _really_ just easier to avoid the entire thing altogether and just keep hiding out here and soaking in sunlight. Sunlight is warm and nice and doesn’t judge Hinata for being a bad volleyball player.

Today, though, Hinata looks at the little watch strapped to his wrist, and the volleyball team practice finished fifteen minutes ago, and he needs to go home before his mom bans him from playing volleyball (hmm, though, that would be an actual legitimate excuse to quit practice, wouldn’t it?), so he drags his legs out of the curled position they’ve been in for the last two hours, ignoring the shrieks of complaint he gets from his stiff muscles, and levers himself up and away from his sunny patch and _oh poop._

Hinata rubs his eyes and blinks hard, twice, just to make absolutely sure he isn’t imagining Kageyama, but there he is, leaning against the frame of the door that leads into the school’s extension and staring right through Hinata. Hinata wonders if Kageyama is actually _daydreaming,_ and if he can maybe just tiptoe past him, but as soon as Hinata moves again Kageyama’s eyes snap back into focus and Hinata swears _very quietly_ (contrary to the general team consensus, he does _know_ swear words, this is just the first time it’s seemed important enough to use them). Hinata instantly freezes, the panic that absolutely, 100% should not be happening on seeing _Kageyama_ bubbling back up, and finding his feet completely rooted to the spot. He sees Kageyama’s eyes sweep over him and watches his brows snap together in a frown, and Hinata _knows_ that frown, that’s the “Hinata has completely and irrevocably screwed up” frown, and he nearly screws his eyes shut so he won’t have to see that glare anymore, but then a pair of hands, a big one Hinata thinks is Daichi’s and a delicate smaller hand that’s probably Suga’s grab Kageyama’s shoulder and pull Kageyama away from the door (the door itself slams shut a moment later), and Hinata feels his feet unfreeze just slightly.

_Everyone’s out there, the whole team is out there, they found my spot,_ and Hinata seriously considers just making a break for it, because if he’s really so fast he can outrun a block, he should be able to outrun the Karasuno Volleyball Club, right? Except as much as he hates to admit it, on a bad day Kageyama can beat him, and with nothing but mountain biking for a week, and with no stretching, it is definitely a bad day. Hinata is still attempting to come up with a better alternative when the door opens again, and he settles on diving behind the one and only tree in the entire space, a tiny straggly thing that’s barely big enough to hide him if he crouches, but with any luck Kageyama won’t look too closely.

Kageyama shuffles his way in, keeping his eyes lowered, like Hinata might bolt if he looks straight at him again. “Hinata, dumbass…” He’s cut off there as an expertly thrown volleyball rockets straight into the back of his head. From his hiding spot, Hinata barely sees Nishinoya’s blonde hair-tuft zip out to collect the ball and race back out to (presumably) the rest of the club.

After a minute to grumble about how _apparently height and accuracy go hand in hand,_ and another resulting rocket serve to the back of Kageyama’s head, Kageyama starts up again. “Hinata, we’re. Um. The third-years figured you might be here, when we couldn’t find you anywhere else, and you won’t talk to anyone in class, and…” He falls silent again, biting at one nail, and continues, “It’s hard to practice for the spring tournament without our starting middle blocker, and…” At that point Daichi and Suga step in to save him.

“…and Hinata, we wish you would just talk to us. We all took that last loss pretty hard, but we can’t let ourselves dwell on it.” Hinata refuses to poke his head up to double-check, but that sounds like Suga-san; no one else is so quiet and reassuring.

“The King’s been sulking, you know. He’s barely even pretending to care in practice.” Hinata hears the increasingly-familiar sound of a volleyball hitting someone’s head, followed by Daichi scolding Nishinoya and Nishinoya cheerfully insisting Tsukishima deserved it.

Hinata risks letting one eye peer around the trunk to see who was there, which as it turns out is a mistake, because Nishinoya and Tanaka immediately charge and pull him out from behind the tree and announce that they’ve found ‘their precious junior’ to the captains.

Hinata feels actual tears welling up at the sight of the club (he’d been avoiding them for a _week, dammit,_ how had they not understood yet that he wasn’t coming back?), and gives a huge sniffle, and the club’s barrage of questions dies instantly as everyone simultaneously attempts to hug him. (Tsukishima looks disgusted and stands firmly back until Tanaka unwraps one arm and yanks Tsukishima’s jersey down into the hug.) He buries his face in the jersey of whichever member was closest to him and throws his arms around them and just lets the tears fall. _I’ll say goodbye to them in a minute,_ he tells the inner voice that's still insisting he isn't wanted. _Let me have this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I would just like to say that those of you with family who have no idea what a 'hey-kuu' is have /no idea/ how lucky you are.  
> (Gemmiel here on ao3 is the reason I watch this show in the first place, and she would not leave me alone till I finished this. Never tell another fan you're writing their ship. Ever.)  
> This is all written! I'll probably update this one every other day. Please enjoy! (also leave me comments if you do enjoy it I love reading them)  
> (Edit: Also, an apology for editing so much...I had SO MUCH trouble keeping this in present tense. ;~; And of course I only noticed all the tense errors after I published it. Sorry!)


	2. Team Huddle

Kageyama had moved on pure instinct.

He’d scared Hinata earlier, hadn’t he? Hinata’s face had gotten the Look on it that usually meant he’d just had a bad run-in with the team they had to play against, and it had been _Kageyama’s fault,_ he’d _ruined_ their best chance to catch Hinata and talk with him, and then he’d felt Daichi and Suga yanking him backward and out through the door, and _he’d ruined everything._

Hinata had looked so peaceful, sleeping in the grass, hair obeying gravity for once and fanned out behind him, that Kageyama had zoned out just a teeny, tiny bit watching him, and his face had just gone to its default Hinata Expression when he realized Hinata had noticed him, and apparently his default Hinata Expression was his _you fucking idiot_ frown.

He listened to Suga’s gentle patter of words half-disconnected, heard Tsukishima’s sardonic effort at cheering Hinata up, heard Nishinoya fling the volleyball at Tsukishima’s head, and saw a tiny tuft of tangled orange fluff and one golden-brown eye peek out from behind the trunk of Karasuno’s little tree. He saw Nishinoya and Tanaka charge forward to grab Hinata feeling like they were on the other side of a TV screen. This shouldn’t be happening at _all,_ dammit, they were supposed to be working toward the spring tournament, they were all supposed to be fine…

But then Hinata’s head comes up, and Kageyama registers the huge, brimming, shining eyes, and the _sniff_ noise his nose is making, and Hinata is decidedly _not fine._ Kageyama doesn’t even realize he’s moved until his arms are wrapped around his spiker in a protective cage and the rest of the team is crowding around them in a huge group hug. He feels Hinata’s wiry arms wrap around him in return, feels Hinata’s face press into his jersey—which _has_ to be stinky from practice and the fact that he washes it about once a century, Kageyama realizes too late—and worst of all, feels the jersey getting wet and hears Hinata making pathetic little snuffly noises into it.

He doesn’t even know what to do here, really, but he has to do _something,_ Hinata’s _crying,_ and to make matters worse Kageyama can hear Hinata’s heart thudding far too fast in his chest, so he strokes Hinata’s back and makes quiet shushing noises. Maybe if he can get Hinata to stop crying Sugawara-san can get Hinata to tell him what’s wrong, and then Hinata can come back to practice, Kageyama can stop escorting him to school to make sure he leaves his bicycle by the gym, and everything will be okay again.

Hinata has practically a death grip on Kageyama’s jersey, and he’s still making snuffly noises, but Kageyama is pretty sure the tears are slowing down, at least. Wasn’t that a good sign? And then he hears Hinata’s ridiculously quiet voice, and it’s so different from his usual playful tone, or his demanding send-me-a-toss tone, or even his I’m-scared-of-the-other-team tone, that Kageyama is briefly afraid Hinata is going to literally fade away in his arms.

“I messed up all those serves, and my spike got blocked at the end, and I can’t receive, and, and, and and and…” He trails back off and presses his face back into Kageyama’s jersey, and Kageyama sighs.

“Dumbass, no one blames you for losing that game.” This gets him nothing but a squeak as Hinata realizes who he’s holding onto, but given that the entire club is pressed around the two of them, he can’t exactly get away.

“We all sucked,” Kageyama continues, “which is why we need to go to _practice,_ so that we can _suck less._ ” He injects just a tiny bit of his usual sarcasm into his words, hoping it’ll jolt Hinata out of this terrible sad state, and immediately regrets it when he feels Hinata flinch.

“But I…”

“ _No buts,”_ Kageyama says firmly, and gives Daichi his best _help me_ look, which is, admittedly, pretty hard to tell apart from his _someone just screwed up_ look.

 It’s Suga who takes over, with a gentle “Hinata, no one’s going to kick you out of the club. We lost as a team, not because of you. That’s why we’re going to the spring tournament. We’re all going to improve, and we’re going to take down Aoba Johsai.” Kageyama wonders at the evenness of Sugawara’s tone; he’s so calm, even hugging a panicking teammate and trying to talk him out of quitting a sport he loves.

Hinata gives a last, huge sniff, and _finally_ turns his face away from Kageyama’s jersey toward the rest of the team. Nishinoya and Tanaka give a whoop, Daichi and Suga give relieved sighs, and Asahi just sits down heavily on the ground. Kageyama is pretty sure he even sees Tsukishima relax slightly. Back in the doorway, Kiyoko is watching, and Kageyama sees her gaze losing the intent look it gets when she's really focusing on someone.

“You’re sure?” That voice is still too quiet, too unsure, and too un-Hinata-ish for Kageyama’s liking, but it’s an improvement over talking into his jersey, and he reaches out to ruffle Hinata’s hair like he sees Tanaka and Nishinoya do all the time. _This usually works…_

“We’re sure, dumbass Hinata.” Hinata fairly squawks at the name, and reaches up to pull Kageyama’s nose, and Kageyama has a hard time keeping from laughing because _this, this_ is normal, this is _Hinata,_ this is the way things should be. He carefully unwinds his arms from around Hinata, and pulls Hinata up, _tsk_ ing and pulling leaves and grass blades out of his hair the whole way to the gym, scolding about how Hinata-san was going to think they just played in the dirt all day.

By the time they see Hinata home safely (with a resounding chorus of "We're sorry for keeping him!" to his mother), he’s laughing again, the same adorable ray of fuzzy sunshine he always is, and the entire team has stopped holding themselves so stiffly.

When Kageyama goes home, he keeps hearing Hinata’s heart thudding too fast in his chest, sounding like it wants to hammer its way right out of Hinata, and he swears he feels Hinata’s tiny warmth still pressed up against him, clinging desperately, and he sees Hinata reaching up to pull his nose again, and then…

Well, then he bundles all the thoughts in a Not Currently A Priority bundle in his head, and sets it in the dustiest corner of his mind he could find. (Right next to all the crap he'd memorized for his last English exam.) Because in that moment, had Suga and the rest of the team not been there, Kageyama could have lost Hinata so _easily,_ and he was determined not to stress Hinata out any more. Which means all his potential I-have-a-big-crush-on-you plans have to go out the window for the moment in favor of some new help-Hinata-know-he’s-wanted plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hugs! :D  
> Last chapter up Thursday, assuming I don't blow up something in chemistry and die.


	3. Racing Home

Hinata is at practice the next day, his normal happy self, and right back to demanding tosses from Kageyama like nothing whatsoever had happened yesterday. The team’s actually practicing instead of debating the most likely place for Hinata to be hiding, and as cheesy as it sounds, it honestly feels to Kageyama like a huge cloud that’s been stuck over the gym has finally moved on. Even _Tsukishima_ is playing better, and Kageyama would have sworn he didn’t care about Hinata.

Kageyama puts 100% of his effort into making _absolutely sure_ Hinata can hit his tosses, and has to be reminded a few times to toss to the other spikers; Daichi eventually just has everyone form a hitting line to be sure all the spikers get a chance at the ball, and they lose themselves in the spike-block-pass-spike rhythm for a while. Daichi calls a (relatively) early end to practice (Hinata-san had asked them exactly why practice had been running so late and Daichi and Suga had promised to have Hinata home on time), and Kageyama changes back into street clothes and waits for Hinata by his bike.

Five minutes pass, and Kageyama wonders if he should have waited in the changing room to make sure Hinata couldn’t sneak off again, but then he sees Hinata’s fluffy head poke around the corner and sighs in relief (shit, had Hinata seen that, probably not).

He insists on racing Hinata to the mountain, and by the time they get there, both of them are puffing in exhaustion, and Kageyama’s gradually realizing that maybe he shouldn’t have goaded Hinata into a race when his mom’s been fussing over him being late so much. He has no idea how Hinata is ever going to get over the mountain; he’s hunched over his handlebars and Kageyama can hear his breaths rasping in his chest.

So obviously, he props his bike on its kickstand, grabs Hinata’s water bottle from its holder on Hinata’s bike, and taps Hinata’s shoulder. “Hey, dumbass, don’t die.”

“I…won,” Hinata rasps back, and Kageyama waves the water bottle in front of Hinata’s face until one of his hands unclenches from the handlebars and grabs it away. He has the sense to not drink it all at once, taking a few quick sips at a time.

“…thanks.”

“You only won because I _let_ you win,” Kageyama huffs. It’s one of his standard responses, one of Hinata’s too, but today Hinata’s frame freezes right up and Kageyama sees his hand tighten on his water bottle. _Shit._ He’d forgotten, briefly, that one of Hinata’s few sore spots was the fact that he and Kageyama were a set, and he wouldn’t be a starting player without Kageyama.

“Hinata, wait, I…” Kageyama trails off, because really, what is he supposed to _say?_ This is what his teammates are for; he’s _terrible_ at actually getting the words he wants from his brain to his mouth. Anything that doesn’t involve calling Hinata a dumbass just won’t come as easily.

“Just joking,” he mutters, turning back toward his bicycle. Better get home before he breaks Hinata again. “Sorry.”

He hears a kind of strangled gasp from Hinata, and turns around just to check if he’s okay, and sees Hinata’s big golden eyes staring at him with the Look that usually meant Kageyama was staying late to practice the freak quick _again._

“You actually…apologized…” and the minute it’s out of Hinata’s mouth he gets a look of deep regret on his face. Kageyama tries furiously to keep his _you fucking idiot_ frown off his face and flicks through his store of Suga-isms.

All he comes up with is, “I apologize _all the time,_ dumbass,” and while he’s kicking himself for the complete and utter disconnect between his brain and his mouth, Hinata’s just standing there with his mouth wide open.

 “…Can I hug you again?”

Okay, of all the possible responses, Kageyama had been expecting (at best) Hinata to huff out a “ _No you don’t, Bakageyama”_ and (at worst) Hinata to freeze up or run away again. Wanting more hugs hadn’t even registered as a vague possibility. Sure, he’d hugged him yesterday, and yes, Hinata was a cuddly person, but _Kageyama_ had never done anything to remotely indicate to Hinata that hugs might be okay. Except for yesterday. Yesterday had really been more of a team huddle in the interest of comforting their spiker, though. Why did Hinata want a hug from him of all people?

Unfortunately, a too-harsh _“What”_ is all that makes it out of his mouth, and Hinata flinches and drops his gaze almost instantly. “Nothing, it just. It helped yesterday, that’s all.” He says this mostly to his shoes, but Kageyama still catches it, and he sighs and holds out his arms.

“C’mere,” he says, quiet as he can (he still has the idea that if he’s too loud Hinata will make a run for it), and Hinata practically flies into his chest. For all that Hinata complains about being short, the top of his head is actually well past the bottom of Kageyama’s…which, unfortunately, means Hinata’s fluffy hair won’t stop tickling Kageyama’s nose.

He readjusts, careful not to move Hinata (who’s currently got his nose buried in Kageyama’s shirt with no apparent plan to move), and puts his chin on top of Hinata’s ridiculous fluffy hair so it wouldn’t _tickle_ so much. His hair smells like apples, of all the things (Kageyama would have guessed oranges), and Hinata himself is practically a furnace. Kageyama wonders if all short people are so warm, or if it’s just this one. Maybe a normal person’s body heat just has less space to go when you’re not as tall. (This might also explain why Tsukishima is always so rude. Maybe all tall people are cold constantly and try to spread it to others to get rid of it.)

Hinata’s still got his nose buried in Kageyama’s shirt, and Kageyama isn’t really sure what to do. He has a vague idea that he should be making Hinata go home, before his mother bans him from volleyball altogether, but Hinata’s clinging to him again, like a cat would, and Kageyama’s not sure he _can_ untangle Hinata at this point.

The sun’s going down, and Kageyama is starting to wonder if Hinata has fallen asleep standing up. His breathing’s even, and he hasn’t said anything in a while, but his grip on Kageyama hasn’t slackened either.

“Hinata?”

“Mrrrrph,” is the only response, but at least it’s confirmation he’s awake.

“You know we meant what we said, right?” He’s trying so hard to choose his words carefully, choose ones that won’t scare Hinata away again. “Really, we didn’t even kick you off the team when you hit that serve into my head.”

Kageyama is almost sure he hears a muffled laugh from Hinata, and thus encouraged, he continues. “And no one’s kicked Yamaguchi off even if he can’t always get his serve right. We’re not going to leave you, you idiot. We love you. _I_ love you.”

Whoops. Shit, he hadn’t planned on blurting that particular dumb crush out. He sees Hinata’s ears turn pink, and starts working into a panic. Now he’d gone and ruined whatever progress they’d made and made everything awkward.

“I love you too.” Kageyama almost doesn’t catch that, it’s so muffled into his shirt, but there’s really no mistaking it. Hinata’s ears are literally glowing red at this point, which only happens when he’s truly and completely embarrassed.

That was easier than Kageyama had assumed it would be. He’d had to shelve most of his plans because they all involved taking Hinata out for a celebratory dinner after winning the Inter-High, and after losing to Seijoh, the plans had needed revising to 'after we win the spring tournament'.

But really, all that he’d needed was to say it, and hear it back, and _oh shit where did the sun go._

Kageyama’s been so lost in thought that, looking down, he can barely see Hinata’s hair in the last rays of sunlight, and the moon is rising already. They’re _so late,_ Hinata’s mother is going to _kill him._ “Hinata?”

Hinata makes a complaining noise and nuzzles further into Kageyama’s shirt, apparently not realizing the urgency. “Hinata, look _up,_ it’s _nighttime._ ” That finally gets Hinata’s attention, and he manages to separate his face from Kageyama’s shirt (his arms are still firmly locked around Kageyama).

“…Crap.”

“Come on, come _on,_ ” Kageyama says, trying to pull Hinata off him, “we need to get you home…” Hinata’s arms will not budge; Kageyama curses all the exercises he knows Hinata does to improve his arm strength. “Hinata, dumbass, your mom’s going to kill us both if we don’t get you home _right now_.”

Hinata looks up at him with that terrible I’m-Being-Abandoned look on his face, and Kageyama swears internally. “Hinata, I meant that. I love you. Which is why I need to get you home so you’re not banned from volleyball _forever._ ” This actually seems to reassure Hinata; his arms finally unlatch and he hops on his bike, calling “Race you!” back over his shoulder.

Hinata’s mom is just as unimpressed with them as Kageyama feared. “Shouyou, your team captain promised me you would be home on time. It’s dark out! You can’t bike over the mountain in the dark, it’s dangerous!” _Definitely related to Hinata,_ Kageyama observes. _Except scarier._ He does wonder why Hinata’s mother is okay with Hinata biking over the mountain in the mornings; it’s just as dark then. _Maybe the problem is more not knowing where he is than anything else._

Hinata is doing his best to de-escalate the situation. He’s been apologizing since they got back. “Sorry, Mom, I got held up…”

“With _what?_ Shouyou, if you can’t be home at a reasonable hour from your club activities…”

Kageyama flicks a glance sideways; Hinata is bouncing on his heels and chewing his lip. _He’s thinking._ Kageyama is spared the question of what exactly he was thinking about when Hinata spins onto his tiptoes and kisses him.

It’s bad, and awkward, and their noses get in the way, and Hinata ends it with a whispered “sorry” before spinning back around.

“Mom, this is Kageyama Tobio. He’s Karasuno High’s setter. I’ve told you about him before, remember? He’s the one that does the super-amazing toss!”

Kageyama’s head seems to have completely short-circuited; he can’t think of anything to do but bow as deeply as he can. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” Hinata is going to make “I don’t believe you have manners” jokes for the next _year._ Wasn’t there _any_ alternative to this?

Hinata’s mom is still just standing there blinking, but she recovers her composure remarkably fast. “Ah. Yes. Likewise. Thank you for seeing my son home, Kageyama-kun.” Kageyama starts to relax, thinking he’s off the hook, but then “…you’ll stay for dinner, won’t you?”

_Shit._

“He’d love to.” Hinata’s beaming so brightly Kageyama’s fairly sure he’s just eaten the entire Sun, and he shoots his best _I will kill you for this later, dumbass_ glare at him, but it doesn’t seem to have much of an effect on the blinding smile.

…Oh, well, he’d signed up for this, hadn’t he. He straightens out of his bow, puts his best smile on, and walks his boyfriend to the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were there better ways to handle that situation? Probably! That way just sort of seemed like the first thing Hinata's impulsive little self would think of. Also I swear I CAN write things without them ending in hugs.  
> (every time you leave kudos or comment a fanfic author gets a warm fuzzy feeling :D If you've read this far, 1) THANK YOU and 2) I hope you enjoyed it!)


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